Centre was launchpad for a shopping revolution

Steve Mason, from Derby’s Local Studies Library, looks back to the cutting-edge development which once stood on the site of Derby's Westfield centre.

THE Main Centre in Derby pre-dated both Duckworth Square and the Eagle Centre. A look at the newspaper and magazine collections at Derby Local Studies Library provides a fascinating insight into the story behind the construction and completion of this, Derby’s first shopping centre.

In August 1958, Black Brothers and Boden Ltd announced that they were to close Castlefields Mill, London Road. The mill had been on this site for more than 125 years and was built by John Boden.

During that time, Derby had undergone major industrial expansion and the town had literally grown up around it. By the late 1950s it was clear that the town planners wanted to make major changes to the industrialised town centre.

On August 15, 1958, a Derbyshire Advertiser reporter wrote that the closure of the mill “has drawn attention to those industrial sites whose presence conflicts with the intentions of the town’s Development Plan”.

Derby Corporation, as planning authority, had scheduled the central area of the town as a non-industrial zone. Almost three years later, on March 22, 1961, the Derby Evening Telegraph reported that the Castlefields Mill had finally been sold and that “planning consent in principle had been granted by Derby Corporation for redevelopment as a shopping centre”.

The plan, by developers Main Centre (Derby) Ltd, involved shops, a car park and possibly a “hotel, maisonettes and office accommodation” on a 3.5 acre site.On May 16, 1961, the development project was officially announced and the Telegraph provided a clearer idea of how it would look.

At this stage, a hotel was still part of the plan. The intention was to have an open paved pedestrian area surrounded by shops, stores and offices.

Goods unloading would take place behind the shops. A unique selling point of the development was to be the “provision of canopies to form a continuous protective line over the perimeters of the parade of shops – with infra-red heating for the colder months”.

Demolition of the old mill site began in August 1961. The contractors were Gee, Walker and Slater Ltd of Derby. A spokesman informed a Telegraph reporter that the cost of the scheme would be in the region of £500,000 and would take 18 months to two years to complete.

Albert Looms Ltd, of Derby and Spondon were engaged to carry out the demolition work. Telegraph photographer Bill Whitaker had a narrow escape on November 9, 1961, when steeplejacks demolished a 220ft red-brick chimney. He, with other onlookers, had been about 50 yards from the base of the chimney when it fell.

“A heavy piece of iron casting fell two feet from where he was standing,” the newspaper reported.

Work proceeded on schedule and, on October 25, 1962, an advert was placed in the Telegraph declaring that Derby Main Centre would be opening in the spring of the following year. It promised a “modern pedestrian way of advanced design”. Gone was the proposed hotel, but there were now to be two office tower blocks, a large supermarket, 53 shops and extensive car parking.

Just as some retailers have moved into the Westfield centre and the London Road units now, the same was happening at the Main Centre.

In the January 1963 edition of Derbyshire Countryside there was a double page feature for Victor Buckland Ltd. The store was sited at the London Road entrance to the precinct. It boasted three storeys of hi-fi, tape recorders, radiograms and televisions, along with private recording facilities.

Apparently, it was the “first building in Britain to be specifically built for retailing sound and vision”. Every Friday evening, at 7.30pm, between September and March, hi-fi recitals were to be held. Free admission for up to 80 people was available for this event and a programme could be sent on request.

Also in the Derbyshire Countryside article is a mention of the large mosaic which was to adorn both of the buildings at the London Road entrance, one being Victor Buckland Ltd. This mosaic was actually made in Italy and the abstract pattern was based upon a birds-eye-view of the precinct layout.

The official opening ceremony for the Main Centre took place on Thursday, July 4, 1963, and was performed by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Mrs E.J. Mack. The now famous boy and the ram statue was also unveiled.

A tour of the completed shops took place before the mayoral party enjoyed a reception on the ground floor of the office block in the centre of the precinct.

As the Telegraph reported on the opening day: “To cater for the public, a first-aid and information centre was in operation, and arrangements had been made to take care of any children who might be lost. A bevy of 12 young and beautiful girls were called on to tour the town in special uniforms giving out balloons and leaflets describing Main Centre.”

The aim of the precinct was to provide a comfortable and enjoyable experience for the shopper. The architects had wanted to build something that was reminiscent of a continental piazza, with trees, fountains and seating.

The Main Centre was as cutting-edge and high-tech in its day as Westfield Derby is now. In fact, Derby shoppers had never seen anything like it.

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